The Calon Series: Young Heart
by MufflerVon
Summary: It's Mother's Day here, so this is just a few short scenes centered around the baby and his 'firsts'. The rest of the family feature heavily too. Thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed and commented - you are beautiful people!


**Calon's first**

Smile

Emma had been claiming that Calon had been smiling at her for weeks, and any explanation that disproved Emma's notion; he's too young, it's just wind, he's just trying out his facial muscles - they were quickly dismissed - her son was definitely smiling at her. But Emma had to reluctantly agree that she had been wrong when Calon's true first smile was directed at Henry. It was a smile that was so bright and so obviously joy filled, that even Emma couldn't argue. From the moment that Calon was first given to Henry to hold, Henry had taken big-brother duties very seriously. He loved helping out with bath time; even asking when Calon would be old enough to share a bath with him. He enjoyed giving Calon a bottle, especially if they could watch a cartoon together at the same time. And he loved reading to him. He would lie Calon down on a blanket on the floor and then lie next to him with a book and read until one or both of them fell asleep. The brotherly love was reciprocated too. Calon's eyes would follow his brother around the room whenever he came in. Calon was never happy being put into his car seat. But if Henry sat next to him and held his hand, Calon didn't stay grumpy for long. Both boys adored each other, something their moms were incredibly grateful for.

Henry had been away for two days, the first time he had had an overnight stay on a school camp, and Regina and Emma were with Calon in his stroller waiting for Henry to get off the bus. Both Moms were eager to see their boy and listen to his excited retelling of his adventures. As Henry got off the bus with his backpack, Emma and Regina both looked to Calon to point out Henry to him, but he obviously could already see his brother making his way over to them. Staring straight ahead, his face glowed as he beamed at his brother for the first time. Henry, seeing his smile, ran towards him waving and dropped to his knees and kissed him in greeting.

Emma dragged her eyes away from the beautiful scene to look at Regina and share a smile with her. Regina had tears in her eyes - and one was making its way down her cheek. Emma leaned over and rubbed the moisture from her cheek, replacing it with a kiss. Regina turned her head slightly and caught Emma's lips and they shared a soft sweet kiss. Henry looked up and leaned forward and said in a loud whisper, "here we go again Calon, guess we're gonna have to get used to Mom and Ma being so gross". Without pulling her head back too far, Emma swatted the top of Henry's head. "Welcome back kid!"

Giraffe

Before Calon arrived, his family had all spent time and money filling the nursery with clothes and gifts and general baby bits and pieces. Henry was very proud in being able to track down a cuddly Spiderman and Regina had been very excited to find a mobile to put above the crib that had dancing horses. Emma had been very practical. There were onesies, vests, socks, every piece of clothing the baby could possibly need in his first few months. She had also insisted in getting the best car seats for both cars and professionally fitted for safety. One night after Henry had gone to bed, she finally admitted to Regina that the reason she was so focussed on getting the baby things that would be practical and functional rather than fun, was because she had had so little growing up. "Pretty things and fun things are great Regina, and you and Henry have made sure the baby will have all that, but my needs were basic as a kid." Emma explained. "I needed new clothes and new shoes every time I grew. And if there hadn't been a donation around the time when I grew, then I had to wear too-short trousers or shoes that rubbed my toes. If I didn't get a teddy bear, it wasn't a big deal. Blisters on my feet cos my sneakers didn't fit, well, that seemed like more of a big deal. So yeah, I want to make sure this baby has _everything_." Regina had closed her eyes and rubbed her extended belly at the thought of Emma's unhappy childhood, thinking what to say before she replied so that she wouldn't upset or offend the blond. "I'm sorry you suffered so much as a child Emma. But this little one is incredibly lucky. We both have well paid jobs and can afford anything that Henry and this baby will need. But more importantly, we have a lot of love to give them. If you wanted to get the baby something cuddly, it wouldn't stop you from meeting his or hers practical needs. You don't have anything to prove Emma."

Three days after Calon had arrived, she came home from work a little later than normal. Regina was in her bedroom, on the bed with Calon, just looking at him. It was her new favourite thing to do. Emma stood on the doorway, not wanting to interrupt the moment, but desperate to join them. Eventually Regina, sensing someone there, looked up and smiled. "Well don't just stand there, come and join us," she offered. Emma knelt on the floor and rested her arms on the bed, one hand holding onto Calon's hand. She smiled shyly at Regina and then looked to Calon as she pulled something out of her coat pocket. "Hey little dude" she said softly as her cheeks started to redden, "I got this for you today" and she pressed a small cuddly giraffe into his hand. Regina grinned and went to take it to have a good look at it. Calon's grip had tightened though and the soft toy stayed where it was. Regina leaned over to Emma and kissed her cheek. "I think it's going to be a favourite Emma."

Rolling over

Regina hurried into the kitchen, almost bounded her way in, holding Calon in front of her. "Emma, your son can't lie on the bed now while we get in the mornings." Emma looked at Calon suspiciously as she took him from Regina. "What have you done now little dude? You only get called 'my son' when you've done something wrong." Emma's gaze went back to Regina, who was now bouncing on the balls of her feet and grinning. Emma looked back down at the baby and then up at Regina, a grin now splitting her face. "He did it?" she whispered. At Regina's nod she held Calon up so that his face was level with hers. "You did it Calon!" she exclaimed as she brought him back to her body, cupping his little head in her hand and rubbing his nose with hers. Regina approached them and took them in her arms, her mouth very close to Emma's ear. "Want to see your son roll over Emma?" Emma breathed in deeply taking in her sons scent and nodded as Regina took her hand and started pulling her towards the living room.

Tooth

Emma was sitting on the couch holding Calon against her shoulder, while watching the news. She leaned her head against his as she rubbed up and down his back, stopping every now and again to smooth his silky soft hair. She eventually became aware of a warm dampness on her shoulder that was slowly seeping through her t-shirt. "Aw, hey there little dude, what's with all this dribbling? She pulled Calon away from her body and looked at him. He was frowning and his lips were rubbing together. Emma frowned back at him and pulled his lower lip down to look in his mouth. "Please tell me you're not chewing on something there Calon? Your Mom will kill me if I've been sitting here all this time, holding you, while you have something in your mouth that you could choke on! She forgets sometimes that she can trust you with me." Emma whispered as she poked a finger around in his mouth. Eventually, she felt a slight bump in his bottom gum. "Oh wow Calon! You have a tooth!" Emma exclaimed in excitement. "Regina! Mommy!" Emma yelled over her shoulder, not really sure where in the house Regina was. She went back to rubbing his gum, knowing that if he was starting to teethe, he would need some relief.

Regina had heard her call from upstairs. With Emma and Calon occupied it was an ideal time to tidy Henry's room. The last time Emma had tried to help, she had refused to allow anything to be thrown out, claiming that she couldn't bear to lose anything of Henrys now that he was back in her life. It had resulted in an emotional evening that Regina was not keen to relive, so she only attempted a clean-out when Emma was busy! At Emma's call, she rushed downstairs, skidding to a halt as she rounded the couch. Emma was sat there cradling Calon, with a finger in her mouth. Regina smiled at the strange picture, but frowned at why she had been called. "He bit me!" Emma accused, speaking around her finger. "What? He what?" Regina replied as she bent to take her son from his Ma. "He bit me Regina!" Emma replied, frustrated by the grin on Regina's face. Regina's finger was already in his mouth, searching for the tooth and when she found it, she grinned and kissed Calon again and again, covering his little face with love. Eventually, she looked back to Emma, who was still sitting on the couch with her finger in her mouth, shock written across her face. Regina sat down next to her as close as she could get and pulled Emma's finger out of her mouth, while holding Calon with her free arm. "Awww, did my Emma get bitten by our little baby? Let me have a look at your terrible injury." Regina said in a voice that she would use with the boys. Emma glared at Regina, but she couldn't help smile as Regina lowered her face to Emma's finger and gave the tip a quick kiss. Looking up at her through her eyelashes, Regina asked in a low voice "anything else you need me to kiss better darling…..?"

Crawl

Calon had been shuffling around on his butt for weeks. Emma was starting to get worried. She watched him shuffling around the kitchen floor as she and Regina had a late breakfast. "Do you think there's something wrong with him, Regina?" Emma asked, not looking up from him. "Why can't he crawl yet? Do you think there's something wrong with his legs?" Regina waited for her to look up at her, and when it became clear that she was solely focussed on their son, Regina rubbed the back of her hand. Emma eventually dragged her eyes away from the boy on the floor and looked at his Mom. Regina was smiling. "You were here the last time the health worker visited. She said he's perfectly healthy Emma. She explained. Please stop worrying. Some babies go straight to walking; they never have a crawling stage." Emma was silent for a moment. "Yeah, but don't you think we should get him tested. Just in case." It was unusual for Emma to be so insistent. Regina got up and walked behind Emma, sliding her arms around her shoulders and holding her tight. She pressed a kiss to the side of her head as they both watched Calon. "Give him a few more weeks Emma. Henry learnt to crawl really quickly, but then took forever to walk. If he's still shuffling around like this, we'll take him to see a doctor. Okay?" Emma nodded her head and turned a little to kiss Regina. "I know you think I'm over reacting, but thank you for indulging me. I just feel a little lost at times with him. I don't want to screw this up. I don't want to screw him up." Regina huffed out a laugh. "Oh honey, welcome to motherhood! That's every parents fear. No one knows how to do this. We're all just hoping we get it right. But darling, you don't need to worry so far. Henry and Calon couldn't have a better Ma. They love you so much."

After dinner that evening, Emma and Calon were suspiciously quiet. Regina finished helping Henry with his homework and went looking for them. She found them in the living room - a room that looked very different from when she had last seen it. The sofas were pushed against the walls and the coffee table was lying on top of one of them. The thick rug had been rolled up and leaned against a wall. And in the huge space that had been created by doing this, were sat Calon and Emma. Calon was in front of Emma with his hands on the floor. Emma had tucked his legs under his butt and was pushing them slightly from behind. "What on earth are you doing Swan?" Regina asked as she moved into the room. Emma looked up proudly. "I'm teaching my son to crawl! Granny said if I sit behind him and push his legs gently, he'll get the idea and learn how to crawl, so I thought I would give it a go." Regina sat on the unoccupied sofa and watched them as they practised unsuccessfully. Calon kept falling forward and Emma had to keep propping him up and starting again. Neither seemed to get bored with the activity though and before they knew it, Calon was yawning as his bedtime passed. "Well, baby boy, I think we've done enough for one night" Emma said seriously as she picked up the baby and kissed his forehead. "We'll keep practising until you get it Calon, don't worry.

Two nights later, Regina was in the kitchen pouring warm milk into three mugs, as Henry and Emma picked out a movie to watch. Emma's voice carried through to her. "Look out Mommy, Calon's on his way to you." Regina put down what she was doing and turned, ready to grab shuffling Calon before her knocked into something. In his place though, came a crawling Calon! Emma and Henry's faces appeared at the door as Calon made his way over to his Mommy. Regina got down on her knees and held out her arms to Calon. He continued crawling until he had crawled up and over her knees and into her lap. Regina cuddled him close and looked up at Henry and Emma grinning in excitement. "You did it baby, you crawled" she whispered into his neck.

Word

There was a competition going on in the Mayoral Mansion. Ever since Calon had first started babbling, the race had been on to see what, or indeed 'who' would be his first word. The poor child was constantly having names spoken at him, urging him to repeat. "Mom-mom- mom" Regina would coo to him as she gave him his bath. "Ma. Say Ma. Ma" Emma would urge him as she gave him breakfast. "Hen-ry. Hen-ry. Hen-ry," was repeated again and again by Henry at any opportunity. So far though all Calon wanted to do was blow bubbles and make a mmmmm sound. Both mothers were excited to think that their name would be the first one the child said, but he seemed reluctant to make any further sounds. Every day, they would try to get him to say something. Every day, Calon would smile and gurgle and babble and generally refuse to say a single word. Regina expected Emma and Henry to get bored of the competition, but she had not anticipated them sharing a stubborn streak.

Eventually the day came that Calon both delighted and disappointed his family. Regina had taken Calon outside into the garden. The sun was out, but not shining directly onto the back lawn, so Regina and Calon were sitting on a blanket on the lawn waiting for Henry and Emma to come back from the store with ice cream. They had been rolling around on the blanket, Regina tickling Calon, his high pitched giggles filling the air. When he had run out of breath she had gathered him against her chest and lain down on her back, with his front facing the sky. As birds flew overhead, Mommy pointed them out, then moved on to other things in Calon's line of sight. When she pointed to her beloved apple tree, Calon said, plain as day "twee". Regina bolted up into a sitting position with him and turned him to face her. "Calon?" Regina encouraged him, "Calon, baby? Did you say tree?" "Twee!" Calon repeated gleefully. Regina stood and as she took a step towards the tree, Henry and Emma came into the back garden. "Quick, quick you two, come here!" Regina ushered them forward throwing her free arm around to get them to hurry. Both rushed towards to Regina and the baby, wondering what could be happening. Once they had reached her side, Regina pointed once more at the tree and spoke directly at Calon. "Calon… Calon, what's this?" Calon looked around, grinning at his brother and mothers and in a sudden moment of shyness he burrowed his face into his Mommy's neck and softly said "twee" once more. Emma jumped in delight and clapped and Henry patted his little back. Sensing the excitement, Calon leaned back from Regina's shoulder and repeated his new word again. More clapping and whoops of joy and excitement encouraged him to say it again. And again. Until Henry realised that the competition would have to be forfeited. "Oh no Mom, none of our names were his first word. None of us won." Henry seemed really disappointed - even though they hadn't discussed a prize for winning. "Nonsense Henry, of course there's a winner" Regina informed him. Emma and Henry looked at one another puzzled. "I win!" Regina announced to their outraged faces. "No way Regina, how do you work that out" Emma demanded, hands on her hips, ready for a fight. "Well, of course I win darling," Regina purred as she laid a hand on Emma's arm and rubbed softly. "It's my tree!"


End file.
